Wave Power

If you've ever peeked below the surface of the ocean, you'll have seen seaweed waving back and forth in the current. Scientists from China's Dalian Maritime University have now utilized that same motion in an underwater energy-harvesting device.

Scientists investigating the massive untapped potential of wave energy have come up with a novel design for a convertor they say operates with far greater efficiency than comparable solutions, and could open the door to widespread use of the technology.

There are energy sources all over the place, if you know where to look. Researchers at CUHK have now designed new modular nanogenerators that can harvest energy from various different types of motion, such as ocean waves or a person's body movements.

A 200-kilowatt demonstration version of Wave Swell Energy's fascinating "blowhole" power generator has been deployed at Grassy Harbour on King Island, off the Australian island state of Tasmania, and will be connected to the grid in the coming months.

German company Sinn Power has proposed a hybrid offshore power generation platform that combines wind turbines, solar panels and wave energy harvesters to generate off-grid electricity for people living close to the coast.

Although autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are electrically-powered, they're launched from fuel-burning surface vessels. A new, more environmentally-friendly system is being designed to replace those ships with wave-powered underwater AUV stations.

Following a second grid-connected project at Jaffa Port in Israel, Eco Wave Power is looking to get more from its energy harvesters by adding solar.

​Back in 2012, Eco Wave Power started testing a wave energy harvesting system that could be installed on existing structures like breakwaters and piers. The company switched on its first grid-connected project four years later, and has now announced the second.​

​Although we've seen a number of experimental wave-power systems in recent years, a new one is claimed to be less expensive and to incorporate fewer moving parts, while still remaining durable in rough seas. It's known as a Dielectric Elastomer Generator, or DEG for short.

Many of the autonomous watercraft we've seen so far follow traditional designs. The AutoNaut is a little different, packing solar-powered sensors for monitoring marine wildlife and ocean conditions and getting to where it needs to be using energy harvested from the waves it rides on.​​

Tetrapods are often used to protect coastlines from eroding away under the constant barrage of waves. Now a project from OIST has outlined plans for turbines that would sit alongside tetrapods, helping to not only dissipate wave energy, but harvest it.

Wind and solar power are proving themselves viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Ocean waves could pitch in too, and Australian company Wave Swell Energy is developing a new device to harvest that energy. New Atlas spoke to Dr. Tom Denniss, the CEO of the company, to find out about the technology.